Vehicle shock absorber



Feb. 3. 1925.

l 1,524,743 W. E. MCMAINS VEHICLE SHOCK ABSORBER Filed NQv. 16, 1922 :hill

. MAINS,

Patented Feb. 3, 1925.

U N IT ED ST .fai

wonronn n. Mci/rams, or iNDIANAPoLIs, INDIANA.

VEHICLE vsHocK ABsoRBER.

Application iled November 16, 1922. Serial No. 601,404.l Y, fx

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known, that I, WoLronD E. Moa citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Shock Absorbers, of which the following is a specication. f l

The object of this invention is to provide a shock absorber for automobiles that can be attached to the ends of the body springs in general use and to the adjacent perchhangers without any other change, so thel springs will be suspended as usual relative to the perches.

Another object is to practically eliminate the rebound act-ion as well as that caused by impact, iirst by the resistance of an auxiliary member and shackle,

spring and then by restraining the rebound of the body spring. l

Another object is to provide-means for the factory assembly of the perch extension with the auxiliary springs operatively positioned under tension ready for use so that installation on a car may be easily and quickly accomplished by unskilled persons.

I accomplish theabo-ve and other objects which will lhereinafter appear, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the front axle and body-springs of an automobile of a common type showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail in cross section on the line 8 3 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings in which like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, 4 indicates an axle, 5 a perchhanger, and 6 a body-spring, all of usual and well known construction. While said members for the front of a car are here shown, it will be understood that the'invention presently to be described is equally applicable to said parts at the rear with such changes in proportions as the differences between the front and rear mechanism of the car may require.

The body-member of my invention comprises a pair of parallel bars 7, 7, whichv receive the perch-hanger 5 between them and to which they are attached by the perchbolt 8. The bars are connected together at their upper ends by a cross member 9 and below the perch-eye'by a cross bar 10 which in the opposite direction is prevented by a bolt 11 thatconnects the two levers on the opposite side of the perch-hanger from the cross bar 10. The result lis that the body-l member comprising thebars 7, 7, is held immovable relative to the perch and said body-member is in effect an upward elongation of the perch-hanger of such extent as to reach well up on the body-spring 6 where its cross bar 10 acts there as a stop to arrest the upward movement of body-spring 6 on the rebound, as shown by dotted lines of said spring in Fig. 1.

A spring-bearingy plate 13 is supported above the bars 7, 7 in angular relation to said bars, by integral standards 14 located at the lower end of said bars, and a plate 15 for a like purpose is located above said bars and at a considerable distance from the plate 13 and also from the upper ends of said bars as shown. v f

Pivoted on the perch-bolt 8, is a shackle Y 16, to the depending arms of which the body-spring 6 is pivoted by a bolt 12. `The upper end of the .shackle supports a plate 17, between 15 a spring 18 is seated, and between the other side 'of which and the plate 13 a spring 19 is seated. Spring retaining lugs20 are formed on the spring-contacting faces vo1 each of said plates.

A pin 21 passes through holes in the ends of both of the bolts 8 and 12, as shown in Fig. 1, and to cause the pin to drive evenly its upper end is split and the two resulting members are bent oppositely at right angles to form a head.

The shackle 16 is secured, preferably at the factory, to the body-member by bushings 22 just long enough to extend through a bar 7 and its adjacent shackle member. The springs 18 and 19 are preferably assembled at the factory as stated for the bushings, in condition for easy installation on a car, requiringv only that a bolt connecting the spring-body and perch-hanger be removed, my device positioned on the perch-hanger, and the bolts placed throu h the bushings, and the lower ends of tie shackle bolted to the body-s; ring.'

In the' operation of my' vention, direct oneside of which andthe plate impact is absorbed by the spring 18. The rebound is first relieved by thev spring 19 and if the rebound is great enough Athe upward movement o'-the body-spring'is checked by its Contact with cross member 9 connecting the upper ends o-the bars 7While I have here shown` anddescribed the preferred form of my invention, it is capable'E of `many modifications, some lof whchI have above referred to, and I therefore do not desire to beheld strictly to the form shown, orany more than is required by the appended claims.

I clai1nl. A shock absorber including an axle a body-spring, a perch-hanger, supported upon the axle, a body-member forming a perch-extension rigidly secured to the perch-hanger, said body-member having a pair of spaced-apart spring-bearing plates, a shackle pivoted` to the perch-boltan'd supporting the body-spring below the perchextension, said shackle having an upward extension Asupporting aV spring-bearing plate between the spread-apart plates of the perch-extension, and a pair vof springs one von each side of said shackle-plate bearing against itV and a respective one ofy said spaced-apart plates on the same side of the shackle-plate.

2.vv A shock absorber including' a bodyspring, a perch-hanger, a pair of bars receiving' the Y perch-hanger between themV and through which the perch-bolt passes, means to keep the'bars licroina swinging' movement about the perch-bolt, means' supported by the bars to arrest the upward movement of the body-spring,l a pairy of spaced-apart spring-bearing.plates onthe bars, a shackle pivotedV onV thev'perch-bolt having an upwardlyI extended spring-bearing plate betweenzthepair ofplates on the two bars, the

other end offtheshackle being pivoted to the endfvolf the body-spring, and a pair of auxiliary springs seated against the shackleplate andY therespective-plates ol the two bars. i

3. AV shock absorber including a bodyspring, a perch-hanger, a pair of spacedapart bars receivingthe perch-hanger between them and pivoted on the perch-bolt, said bars connected: by a cross-member contacting one'side of the perch-stem, a removable member carried by the bars contacting the other'side of the perch-stein thereby rigidly connecting' V'the bars with the perchhanger, said bars having a connecting member at their l'ends remote from the *perchhanger and having a pair of'spaced-apart spring-bearing' plates, a shackle 'pivoted on thev perch-bolt and having` a spring-bearing plate on one side of the bolt between the two plates of the pair of bars, a pair of springs one on each side of the shackle spring-bearing plate contactingthe latter and the respective plates'of thepair et bars, the body-spring-.being pivotedl to the shackle' on the opposite side of the perchpivot from the pair of springs.v

t. A shock absorber including a perchhanger, a perclihanger'bolt,va plurality oi" pairs of separate members@secured to the perch-hanger by said i bolt, and bushing sleeves surrounding the :bolt` holes in each pair andjoiningthe-members'of each pair together without-the aidof the''bolt.' Y

5. A shock absorber 'compri'sing'a perchhanger, a perch-hanger bo1t',^afdouble pair of 'separately' formedr members f" connected by the bolt with the' perch-hanger, and-bushing sleeves in the bolt holes,` normally connecting Aeach pair of -members together.

Signed at Indianapolis, Indiana, this the 14th day of November, 1922.

WOLFORD E. MCMAINS. 

